Finstad, Altendorf visit Gundersen St. Elizabeth’s for Field of Dreams planting

Finstad, Altendorf visit Gundersen St. Elizabeth's for Field of Dreams planting

Each year, plows till the field right outside Gundersen St. Elizabeth's Hospital and Clinicsto prepare for planting Jake's Field of Dreams. And this spring, with the machinery as the backdrop, Gundersen St. Elizabeth's officials were joined by a well-known name who knows a thing or two about farming.

U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad (R-Minn.) visited the hospital on April 22 to learn about Jake's Field of Dreams - itself a fundraiser for the hospital - and take a tour of the facility to learn about the primary prevention disease management building project.

Gundersen St. Elizabeth's is working through Finstad's office on a direct spending request of $2.5 million to help support the capital campaign for the expansion of the hospital's primary prevention and rehabilitation facilities. If successful, the funds will be included in the federal 2025 appropriations bill.

Finstad, who serves Minnesota's First Congressional District and is himself a fourth-generation farmer near New Ulm, chatted casually with hospital leaders and a handful of local farmers and businesspeople about a variety of issues that affect rural healthcare, including a 2017 bill he authored that provided student loan forgiveness to pharmacists who committed to working three years in a rural setting.

"At the time, we were seeing all the mom and pops being bought up and Walgreens popping up slowly, and CVS and others, and it was just creating some deserts," Finstad said. "People were driving quite a way for their medications."

St. Elizabeth's administrator Jim Root pointed out that the hospital's pharmacy is the only one in the city of Wabasha following the closure of a locally owned outlet. Additional services may be added.

That campaign, St. Elizabeth's Foundation lead Tom Crowley said, has already raised more than $6.5 million through community fundraising, and the federal dollars would be a significant boost to the campaign. Crowley adds that they are working with State Sen. Steve Drazkowski and State Rep. Pam Altendorf for additional financial support from the state. Altendorf was also in attendance that day.

"We're working every angle we can," Altendoft commented.

But those pushing for support of greater Minnesota legislation face headwinds.

"We get overlooked a lot of times when it comes to legislation," Finstad said. "It's metro-centric, and they think the answers are what works in St. Paul or what works in D.C., not right here. It's one of our battles internally that we're always fighting."

Finstad said in rural areas, which make up much of his district, community healthcare is truly rooted in the community, which is one reason he loves where he lives.

"It's important that we have a strong healthcare system in our communities because that is something that is higher on the priority list that families are looking for," he said.

Altendorf, a Goodhue resident, said each time she visits Gundersen St. Elizabeth's, she's impressed by the facility, and the community's support for it is clear.

"I just really have a lot of support for you, and hopefully we'll be able to get some of those dollars for the expansion," she said.

Hospital officials hope to break ground on the project sometime this year.